[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/black_helicopter_nomarks_7640.jpg]][[caption-width-right:300:[-You see them too, right?-] ]]

->''Unmarked helicopters''->''Hovering''->''They said it was a weather balloon''-->-- '''Soul Coughing'''

The aliens are closing in, the terrorists are priming the warhead, the President's hijacked motorcade is arriving, or perhaps the loveable band of hackers is about to uncover the GovernmentConspiracy. Whatever the situation, TheMenInBlack need to arrive in style, and there is only one way to do that: the Black Helicopter.

A somewhat dubious TruthInTelevision, as Black Helicopters are an ingredient of many real-life [[ConspiracyTheorist conspiracy theories]]. Possibly influenced by dark painted helicopters that get mistaken for black in poor lighting conditions while performing disappointingly mundane operations. Though it should be obvious, helicopters are actually [[AwesomeButImpractical very, very terrible at stealth.]] There is simply no way to make them completely quiet, they have next to zero endurance, they are slow, vulnerable, ruinously expensive, and restricted to low altitudes[[note]]and all of these things are made worse by stealth modifications, which can add hundreds of pounds to the airframe, mess with aerodynamics, alter the lift of the blades, etc[[/note]]. Even the now-infamous super-secret Seal Team 6 choppers had slight noise reduction and were only cloaked ''to radar,'' and even that was imperfect. [[PlaneSpotting Military Plane-Spotters,]] take note.

In RealLife if a helicopter was involved in sinister operations it would probably not be painted black -- to avoid the trope and avoid sticking out like a sore thumb.

%% RealLife isn't the focus here -- let's keep the RealLife material a footnote, since%% we can't do the subject justice without being distracting and off-topic.%% Consider UsefulNotes for material on RealLife stealth considerations for helicopters.

----!!Examples:

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* Hypnos from ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' has black helicopters, though their effectiveness quickly fades against {{Mons}}.* In ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'', [[BadassCrew Section 9]] use gray V-22 Type tiltrotors and smaller Hind-like helicopters, while the JSDF use transport helicopters and gunships, including AI-piloted Jigabachi AV helicopter (the most menacing in the series). They are designed to look like their namesakes -- Jigabachi is the Japanese name for a type of mud-dauber wasp -- the Jigabachi AV has a large gun pod that hangs beneath the rest of the helicopter and can swivel in any direction to unleash DeathFromAbove. The most sinister aspect is that the AI pilots have gone rogue. [[note]]It is only the Maritime SDF's Oniyama gunship/transports, that have a ''huge'' gatling and several smaller ones in the nose, and the Jigabachi AV prototype, that are painted black; the rest of the Ground SDA's rotorcraft are painted army green, including the baseline Jigabachi.[[/note]]* Team Rocket from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has several black helicopters, often used as [[BigBad Giovanni's]] transportation of choice.* The Ministry of Defense uses these in ''Anime/GaReiZero'' to move their RedShirtArmy about. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by [[TheSquad the MOE countermeasure team]] (who've been using Humvees thus far), who comment they're probably trying to show off. Until the final episode, in which the team gets stuck in traffic [[spoiler:while moving to intercept Yomi]] and the SDF gives them a lift.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* In ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', Franchise/{{Batman}} has the Batcopter. It has the appropriate colour scheme. [[note]]The action figure has been around for a while.[[/note]]** The last time Batman had a Batcopter in any other franchise or medium it wasn't one of these owing to Batman's comic book color schemes. * Sheba, the black helicopter used to transport the ''SuicideSquad''.* In ''[[SinCity Sin City: Hell And Back]]'', the BigBad has a black military helicopter which factors heavily in the climax.* The 2010 ''ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}}'' miniseries references this trope with the [[http://www.comicvine.com/black-choppers/4060-58886/images/ Black Choppers]], a [[BadassBiker motorcycle gang]] comprised exclusively of aliens doing the arcane bidding of an unrevealed conspiratorial organization.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'': A black helicopter used by the Lemons is used to carry Finn [=McMissile=] away from the race in Italy with his magnet near the end as an attempt to prevent him from foiling their evil plans. The Lemon helicopter then flies [=McMissile=] to London and leaves him, Mater, and Holly Shiftwell to be crushed to death by the gears of a giant clock as the Lemons proceed to wreak havoc on the final race there.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* ''Film/ConspiracyTheory'' had Mel Gibson's character paranoid about (among other things) undetectable, silent, black CIA helicopters. At the end of the movie it's revealed that it's one of his many paranoias that are true.* Blackout from the ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie. Megatron in ''TransformersAnimated'' is also a futuristic helicopter. The [[TheMenInBlack Sector 7]] agency also has a few of these choppers, which are used to try and track down the Autobots and for prisoner transport.* The titular machine in ''Film/BlueThunder'' is a Black Helicopter with stealth capabilities, advanced surveillance equipment, and a [[{{BFG}} really big freaking gun]]. The movie involves a GovernmentConspiracy centered around its use, and the hero ends up stealing it for the climactic aerial showdown.* Blade is carried to a meeting with a vampire lord in ''Film/BladeII'' by a black helicopter.* ''Film/MinorityReport'': The scary black future helicopters/jump-jets used by the police, bordering on all-out CoolPlane.* ''Film/CapricornOne'' has a government conspiracy to fake a human landing on Mars. The conspiracy is enforced by black helicopters to creepy effect, with behavior more like dark wraiths than human piloted machines.* Given [[ProperlyParanoid the premise]] of ''Film/TheyLive'', it would be almost more surprising if there weren't some of these. With fun bonus of [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum alien]] ''helicopter sound silencers'', no less.* In ''Film/BigGame'', incidentally, the helicopter Hazar and his mooks hijack is pitch black. [[spoiler:They're actually CIA operatives and part of government conspiracy.]]* ''Film/JamesBond''** ''Film/GoldenEye'': A super-helicopter, immune to EMP effects, is hijacked and promptly used to steal the [=GoldenEye=].** In ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', Bond is menaced by such a helicopter, and at one point he evades it by jumping over the spinning rotors in SloMo with a motorcycle.* ''Film/AirForceOne'' begins with a black helicopter operation.* The original ''Film/{{Predator}}'' (1987) has Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his team being inserted into the guerrillas' jungle hideout area by a genuine, CIA-owned UH-1N Huey, painted semigloss black. However, the two escorting Huey gunships, being owned by the local friendly government's army, are painted a more sensible jungle green.* In ''Film/{{Cypher}}'', the legendary spy Sebastian Rooks designs and pilots a black helicopter.* In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', while Bane's minions cruise around in stolen and retooled Batmobiles, Batman zips around in a gunship prototype dubbed "The Bat".* ''Film/ZeroDarkThirty'' recreates the stealth-variant Black Hawk helicopters for the Abottabad raid, though the models presumably had to be based off a little bit of guesswork, given that the actual design details are still classified. True to reality, they trade payload, performance, and armament in exchange for being nearly invisible on radar, [[spoiler:though it's nearly a moot point when one crashes and the conventional CSAR helicopter is sent in.]]* The 1970 film ''Figures in a Landscape'' sees hapless protagonists [=MacConnachie=] and Ansell pursued by a black Aérospatiale Alouette, the motivations of its [[FacelessGoons Faceless Goon]] occupants totally unknown. Similar to the later ''Film/CapricornOne'', the helicopter becomes an almost primal enemy for the heroes to overcome as they struggle to survive in the wilderness. This is especially true of [=MacConnachie=], whose desire to kill the helicopter's pilots becomes an obsession and part of his SanitySlippage.-->'''[=MacConnachie=]''': [''as the helicopter appears''] Great... black... ''bat''!* An obscure 90ies russian war movie called ''Black Shark'' features the Kamov KA-50 used for the page image. It is notable for giving the helicopter it´s now very common nickname. The movie is strange in that the helicopter almost acts like a character itself, with it´s pilot never saying anything while flying it, blowing up afghan drugdealer mercenaries, and it is painted completely black.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* In Dan Brown's ''Literature/DeceptionPoint'', late in the novel, the antagonists use an unmarked black Kiowa Warrior helicopter.* ''Literature/AmericanGods'': The valkyries in Creator/NeilGaiman's novel manifested as black helicopters.* In the ''[[DeadToBeginWith Heroes in Hell]]'' series, [[Literature/TheIliad Achilles]] had picked up pilot training and flew a stealthy black helicopter loaded with spy gear and a 30mm chain gun on covert operations for, among others, Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar.* ''Literature/FuturetrackFive'' by Creator/RobertWestall featured a special police force known as Paramils who flew around in black psycopters, named because of the psycho-radar they carried, which allowed them to monitor the mental states of the population and detect people via the presence of human brain patterns.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]* Martin Lloyd in the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "Point of No Return" believes in black helicopters, among other things. Ironically, this one of his conspiracy theories that is incorrect in the Franchise/StargateVerse -- everything else is true, including TheMenInBlack, aliens, and [[spoiler:even his belief that he is an alien.]] [[note]]Martain believes some nonsense as well: CIA microwave probes, various improbable things about the Kennedy assassination, etc. Fictional settings play havock with delusional characters![[/note]]* ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'' was intended to be one of these, until its test pilot made off with it to become HeroesRUs. Its actually painted dark brown with a white belly.* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': In 1st season episode “Sightings”, Colombian drug smugglers use a helicopter equipped with lights and low-frequency emitters, appearing as a UFO, to scare away the locals from an abandoned navy base in Texas where they had an underground processing facility.* Parodied in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', when one movie shows the hero being tailed by a private helicopter.-->'''Crow:''' It's one of those UN black helicopters, except...white and orange.\\'''Mike:''' Exactly what they ''would'' do!* ''Series/{{House}}'': House refuses to believe the guy who just asked for his services is really with the CIA until they step onto the roof and find a Black Helicopter waiting.-->'''CIA guy:''' It helps when you have props.* The UsefulNotes/ColdWar DayOfTheJackboot mini-series ''Series/{{Amerika}}'' has the DirtyCommunists flying over the United States in helicopters [[PropRecycling reused]] from ''Series/BlueThunder''. Except they're no longer blue.* ''Series/TheMentalist'': Invoked in the "Black Helicopters" episode. While Jane is infiltrating an anti-government homestead commune, he has his {{FBI}} superiors fly an unmarked black helicopter over the commune to make the whole group paranoid as part of his plan sniff out a murderer that is hiding amongst them.* The ''Series/{{Nikita}}'' episode "Kill Jill" had the black helicopters turn out to be from a Division cleanup crew [[spoiler:covering up the fact that the crashed airliner they were cleaning was running drugs]].* Used on ''Series/TheXFiles'' in various episodes and in the 1998 movie, as is appropriate for a series full of mysterious conspiracies.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]* The band Soul Coughing has a song called "Unmarked Helicopters" all about this trope. Appropriately enough, it first appeared on a soundtrack CD for ''Series/TheXFiles''.* Non-Phixion "Black Helicopters":-->"Open up your third eye, Black Helicopters in the sky"* Canadian artist Matthew Good has a song called "Black Helicopter" on his 2007 album ''Hospital Music''.* Mentioned in "Foil" by Music/WeirdAlYankovic, along with such other conspiracy staples as TheIlluminati, the New World Order, and the MoonLandingHoax.* The music video for ''Music/{{Gorillaz}}''' "Feel Good Inc." features a couple of helicopters chasing Noodle's [[FloatingContinent floating island]]. In the video for "El Mañana" they catch up and bomb it to pieces, sending Noodle with a cloud of debris hurtling into a ravine.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]* L.O.U.G.H.B.O.R.O.U.G.H. from ''{{Nebulous}}'' maintain a fleet of black copters.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* In ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'', the black helicopters belong to [[AncientConspiracy the Technocracy]]. Many of them are magic, which explains how a helicopter can have stealth capabilities.* ''TabletopGame/ConspiracyX'': The [[NoSuchAgency National Defense Directorate AKA the Black Book]] has two types of black helicopter, their standard transport, the Raven Stealth Helicopter and the Ghost Surveillance Helicopter which handle their spying needs. Not only can they both fly silently, they have [[CloakingDevice biomimetic sheaths that allow them to blend into the surroundings]].* In the ''TabletopGame/GURPSTechnomancer'' setting, the American government has mysterious, stealth black ''[[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]]''.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]* In ''Theatre/PokemonLive'' Giovanni carries Professor Oak and Delia away by dangling them in cages from an (offscreen) helicopter.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' gets ferried around in one, and there are references to others throughout the game. Amusingly, the stealth aspect does not work -- an in-game newspaper article mentions sightings. Naturally, UNATCO use this as a reason for why they aren't real:--> '''Manderly:''' If black helicopters were really being used for 'covert operations,' then those responsible are doing a poor job of it.* Conspiracy nut Boyd Cooper's level on ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' is packed with black helicopters.* Appropriately, the Black Ops teams from ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life|1}}: Opposing Force'' use black helicopters.* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' is attacked by an unmarked black helicopter gunship during the final stages of the game, which the BigBad, Nicole Horne, tries to use to make her getaway. Max sends an antenna crashing down right on top of it, killing everyone inside.* The Turks in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and its spinoffs travel around in black helicopters.* The black helicopters in ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' serve the purpose of deploying [[spoiler:Pirandello Krueger]]'s EliteMooks (which is as close as it gets to TheMenInBlack in that game) to wherever they are most likely to gun Faith down. Oh, and there's a GovernmentConspiracy, alright.* The protagonist of the Creator/DouglasAdams text adventure ''[[{{Infocom}} Bureaucracy]]'' doesn't encounter any black helicopters, but they're the topic of one of the CopyProtection questions you may be asked.* The DemonicSpiders of ''SpyHunter''.* Done with some twists in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}''. What these helicopters lack in silence, they make up for with [[MoreDakka firepower]]; starting out with one Blackhawk that deploys a squad of [[FastRoping fast-roping]] Marines every now and then, and eventually working up to three Black Apaches determined to send you to [[BulletHell Missile Hell]]. However, they still evoke that cool paranoia factor whenever they show up.\\\\A player can actually tell apart the [[SemperFi Marine]] and [[EvilArmy Blackwatch]] vehicles (the latter of which are actually slightly tougher) from each other. Marine vehicles are have a typically military tan-color, while Blackwatches stuff is... well black. So not only are there Black Helicopters, but also [[TankGoodness Black Tanks]] as well.* The villains in ''FarCry'' use black V-22 Ospreys.* The [[TheMafiya Russian Mafia]] in ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}'' have an exceedingly rare helicopter that may show up once or twice, and is obviously a Ka-50 or Ka-52, much like the page image. You have to steal it from them/steal one back for them (after the NK seized it) for one mission.* The Soviet army in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'' fields Twinblades, ''[[ThePoliticalOfficer commissar]] helicopters''. One of them tries to assassinate [[spoiler: Premier Cherdenko, although he faked it to frame Krukov]] in a cutscene.* ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}} II'': Fluff suggests this was the idea behind the Banshee gunship, a fast, [[InvisibilityCloak cloak-capable]] turbofan gunship built by TheEmpire to terrorize colonies who got funny ideas.* In VideoGame/ThePKGirl, [[GovernmentConspiracy ROSA]] utilizes Black Helicopters for all of their cute-girl-with-superpowers-kidnapping plots. (Of which it is suggested there are many.)* The R-Shobu from the ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'' games. Modeled after the AH-64 Apache Chopper, it is the main attack helicopter of the Rebel Army. It attacks by dropping bombs at ground targets and deploying missiles against aerial targets. A red variant exist, called R Shobu MK II or R.R. Shobu, which is faster ([[RedOnesGoFaster Naturally]]) and more powerful.* A black Apache helicopter, aptly named "Black Thunder", is a recurring MidBoss in the first ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'' game. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]* ''WebComic/SluggyFreelance'' - Choppers are among the equipment used by the [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=000903 Black Ops Christmas Elves]].* How about a ''sentient'' black helicopter with dual tilting rotors? Read ''SkinHorse''.-->'''Tip:''' We've got a black helicopter! You know what that makes us? An officially intimidating secret organization!::Nick ''loves'' being this trope; his CharacterBlog used to have the subtitle "They said I was a weather balloon".* The Llewellyn clan in ''WebComic/OzyAndMillie'' have a few of these, being conspirators of various quality; when Ozy tells Isolde her "babysitter conspiracy" isn't too hot, she retorts with "I don't see YOU riding around in a black helicopter." Of course, none are really seen (unless you count Orbital Windmill I).* Inquisition in ''ExterminatusNow'', naturally, does ''[[http://exterminatusnow.co.uk/2010-12-06/comic/non-storyline/randoms/boy-did-you-pick-the-wrong-table/ not]]'' have such ludicrous things as "black helicopters with [[YouFailPhysicsForever silenced counter-rotating blades and light-absorbing paint]]". Now, [[NoExceptYes VTOL aircraft with active noise cancellation, on the other hand]]...* Mentioned in ''[[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2014/05/26/0584-law-abiding-citizen/ this]]'' [[Webcomic/SandraAndWoo Sandra and Woo]] strip.

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[[folder:Web Original]]* In ''{{lonelygirl15}}'', black helicopters are used by the Order. Helicopters - not always black -- also fly overhead in a number of episodes, often {{foreshadowing}} danger.* The Register made a regular feature of looking for black helicopters on Google Earth.* Usenet has featured the newsgroup alt.conspiracy.black.helicopters for years now.* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' features them as (probably) helicopters of the World Government, which are "not safe" for children to play around, for unspecified reasons. On the other hand, the Night Vale Sheriff's SecretPolice have ''Blue'' helicopters, which "only occasionally" take children. Then there are the helicopters painted with murals of diving birds of prey. Nobody knows who owns these helicopters, and the Sheriff's Secret Police advises parents who see these helicopters to take their children home immediately and lock themselves in until a Secret Policeman leaves a carnation at the door. [[FantasyKitchenSink These helicopters--black, blue, and diving-bird-of-prey-painted--are probably the most "normal" thing in Night Vale]]. ** And it turns out the real threat comes from ''yellow'' helicopters...owned by [[spoiler:[[MegaCorp Strexcorp]] [[EvilInc Synernists, Inc]].]].** Incidentally, the people with the diving-bird-of-prey-painted helicopters eventually ''did'' take all of Night Vale's children...but brought them back, essentially unharmed. When the owners of the yellow helicopters were accused of something nefarious, the (still unidentified) owners of the diving-bird-of-prey helicopters [[EvenEvilHasStandards evinced disgust]], and pointed out that ''they'' at least had returned the children.* [[http://zapatopi.net/blackhelicopters/ The TRUTH About Black Helicopters]][[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]* Their frequent use was lampshaded in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'':-->'''Ron:''' So, what are the chances that they're not after us?\\'''Kim:''' They're black helicopters, Ron. They're always after us.* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' - Black helicopters appear in the background throughout the conspiracy-themed episode "Cartman Gets An Anal Probe".-->'''Rancher:''' What the hell was that?\\'''Officer Barbrady:''' That...that was just a pigeon.* The ''{{WesternAnimation/Metalocalypse}}'' black helicopter is sinister for other reasons.* In the 2003 animated series of ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', in the third season, the turtles manage to acquire a government helicopter belonging to a secret government agency, and make it their own.* Of coure Dale Gribble in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' makes a mention of it after hearing a suspicious noise-->'''Dale Gribble:''' Must be one of those new silent UN black helicopters, as you can hear they're still working out the bugs.* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': In "G-String Circus", when Deputy CIA Director Bullock finds out they need to spend their remaining budget immediately or face cutbacks, Stan's whole department immediately rolls out in [[VanInBlack Black Vans]] and {{Black Helicopter}}s to the nearest strip club, [=XanaBoobs=].* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', where they are used by the EPA.* [[FauxAffablyEvil Airachnid]] from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' has a Black Helicopter as her alt form.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]* The man in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_xIUOLYYRg this video]] is under the firm belief that a "rogue" helicopter is following him for reasons that are unclear but have something to do with the government... probably. Subverted in that this one is white for some reason.* Helicopters are said to routinely patrol the border of the fabled {{Area 51}} military facility in the Nevada desert. Some claim the helicopters more or less harass you by flying low and stiring up dust.* The page image is ''Kamov's'' Ka-50 ''Black Shark''. Notice how it has no tail rotor? It's a coaxial design, meaning the two rotors rotate in opposite directions on the same shaft, thereby stopping the helicopter from spinning like a top, and also lacking that much more vulnerable tail rotor.* The [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous US Navy SEALs]] who took out OsamaBinLaden apparently operated helicopters that while not exactly black, were designed with stealth capability, the tail section of one being shown ad-nauseam on international news when the chopper crashed and the [=SEALs=] had to blow the rest of it up to keep it secret. The helicopter was apparently a heavily modified version of the UH-60 Blackhawk that was not known to exist outside of high-level military and government circles.* The US Department of Homeland Security operates black-painted helicopters. They are not very mysterious, being gloss black with a gold band, large Homeland Security markings, and a blue flashing light.* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_OH-6_Cayuse#.22The_Quiet_One.22 Quiet One]], a "Hughes 500 Penetrator". Built in the 1970s with experimental noise reduction technology, these were used for at least one intelligence gathering mission in Vietnam. Of course they were not black but looked exactly like other civilian machines used by the cover company* [[TwentyThree 23]] such helicopters (identified as Boeing CH-47 Chinooks) were said to have surrounded a mysterious object that irradiated three civilians, in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash-Landrum_incident Cash-Landrum Incident.]] * In reality covert helicopters used domestically are simply unmarked with civilian paintjobs as having no markings would make it extremely distinctive. The NYPD is known to operate one. [[/folder]]----[[Music/RideOfTheValkyries Dun-dudu-DUHN-Dun, Dun-dudu-DUHHN-DUN...]]----''They said it was a weather balloon''--